Land-use attorney Ed Byrne wants Boulder to reconsider policies that have promoted low-density development in order to get more affordable housing. He supports creating an affordable housing board that would bring together business and nonprofit perspectives to help solve the problem.

Jonathan Dings, Boulder Valley School District administrator, said Boulder does not have the available land to "solve" the affordable housing issue in any meaningful way, but the city can create new transit and bike programs to get more commuters out of their cars.

Micah Parkin, executive director of 350 Colorado, an environmental advocacy group, said Boulder should support dense housing development along transit corridors and implement zoning changes to make it easier to build co-housing units and accessory dwelling units. However, the city cannot house everyone who wants to live here.

Freelance web designer Kevin Hotaling wants to see the city remove many development restrictions on density and height outside the downtown area and encourage a lot more housing to be built. The city cannot continue to subsidize affordable housing, he said, but it can encourage the market conditions that would create it naturally.

At a sometimes spirited PLAN-Boulder County candidate forum Monday, four of the 11 Boulder City Council candidates debated the best way to address housing, transportation and fiscal challenges.

Given PLAN's focus on limiting development and promoting open space, many of the audience questions pushed back against the idea that Boulder should build a lot more housing.

Byrne said the previous land-use policies contributed to Boulder's beloved open space and other community assets, but have had the effect of driving out the middle class and children with families.

"We're suffering from a 60-year land-use experiment," Byrne said. "We don't make it better by freeze-drying it in place."

Hotaling said the city has plenty of space for in-fill development without expanding into open space, provided developers are allowed to build up and provided the city work aggressively to reduce car use, allowing parking lots to be developed for other uses.

"We could add 20,000 units to the Transit Village if we would allow it, but we don't because some people don't want their skyline changed," he said. "I don't believe that's the role of government, to determine what the skyline should be for everyone and who can live in Boulder."

Dings said the city's open space system means housing will always be limited.

"The impact of our beautiful open space is that many people who work here don't live here, and that makes it incumbent on us to provide good alternatives to help people get out of their cars," he said.

The forum was moderated by Bruce Goldstein, a PLAN board member and associate professor of environmental design and environmental studies at the University of Colorado.

Two previous forums featured Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum; Planning Board member Mary Young; "Greatful" Fred Smith, a laborer who is on disability; Councilman Macon Cowles; engineer and Boulder County Planning Commissioner John Gerstle; attorney Andrew Shoemaker, a former Planning Board member and co-chair of the Boulder organizing committee of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge race; and Sam Weaver, CEO of Cool Energy, a waste heat recycling company and current Planning Board member.

There are five open seats on the Boulder City Council. Three incumbents -- K.C. Becker, Suzy Ageton and Ken Wilson -- are not seeking re-election.

On budgetary issues, Hotaling said Boulder has neglected core city services like police, parks and roads in favor of "pie-in-the-sky special interests."

Parkin said social services and transportation are the most underfunded sectors, and she asked voters to support two ballot measures that will provide ongoing funding for road repairs.

Parkin said the city also should consider road usage fees using license plate readers.

Byrne also identified human services as being underfunded, but said Boulder needs to spend more on policing to address behavioral issues by some transients. He said city parks need to be open to everyone.

Dings said transit and human services both need more funding. He said his work on the Human Relations Commission puts him in touch with many nonprofit groups and they do a good job stretching limited dollars.

On requiring businesses to recycle their waste, Byrne said the oft-cited 17 percent number is too low, but if the businesses that recycle are Boulder's largest companies, it may account for a lot of the waste stream already. He said he supports shaming businesses that don't recycle and promoting those that do, rather than requiring recycling.

Hotaling said people don't like to be told what to do, and the city should use persuasion to promote recycling.

Dings said that instead of requirements, he'd support the city subsidizing the cost or creating incentives to recycle.

But Parkin said recycling has been fashionable for decades, but too many businesses still don't do it.

"We've been trying for a couple decades to get businesses to voluntarily recycle and compost, and I continue to be annoyed when I go to businesses and see that they don't recycle," she said. "I think it's time to require it."

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